Greenpoint
Biography Greenpoint is the home town of the Little Rascals. In the early time of the series, it was defined as existing somewhere in Southern California as a possible suburb of Hollywood. (Both Long Beach and Los Angeles are named in Rascal addresses.) This is evident by the palm trees seen from time to time as well as the references to Los Angeles nearby. Farina hears a radio broadcast from Hollywood (Mary, Queen Of Tots), and stories of pirates are reported from off the waters (Mama's Little Pirate). However, later in the series, Greenpoint seems close to Elmira in Southern New York (the hometown of Hal Roach). Indeed, several parts of town look like Flatbush or Brooklyn, New York. In fact, the kids get a rather unexpected trip to New York City by train car (The Big Town), but since Elmira is a land-locked town and the home of the Rascals is almost definitely near the sea (Shiver My Timbers), Southern California is the logical location, but not the absolute location. Since all of the Rascals knew each other well at one time or another, and that characters like Spanky, Wheezer and Joe knew and interacted with more of the others at one time or another, it's hard to comprehend that the series started in California and ended up in New York. According to a photo of the Founder's Oak from Unexpected Riches, Greenpoint was founded on April 17, 1884 by Zebediah Peters and a hunting party who chose the location at the old oak. The town seems to have a two-year term for its mayors as five of them are noticed in an eight-year period: Frank Kaye from 1937 to 1938, James H. McNamara from 1939 to 1940, John Dilson from 1940 to 1941, Mayor Bradbury from 1941 to 1942 and Thomas C. Churchwell from 1943 to 1944. Through the series, several parts of Greenpoint are frequently seen. It appears to be a very populated location with a police force, fire department, taxi service and train stop. It has a number of districts like the Tenement District which is loud, full of traffic and crowded with subways underground and elevated trains, even though we never see them. Other gangs in addition to the Rascals roam the streets, like the Man-Eating Tiger-Cubs of Wildcat Alley and the Gas House Gang. Another district is the Powderpuff District, which from the description could be full of the high society shops and stores for the high elite in town. During the time of the Rascals, the town doesn't have a single stoplight and cops like Officer Mac must guide traffic otherwise Wheezer has to smash lightbulbs in the street to distract the motorists into stopping to look for flat tires. Bootleggers are a problem during the Twenties through the Thirties. Merchants are known to sell on the curb. Beyond the run-down part of the Tenement District, there are suburban parts of town with both long straight roads for chasing the ice cream truck, dusty roads with weed-filled yards around the Greenpoint Dog Pound and Mack's Market and long hilly roads perfect for go-cart races and home-made fire engines to run amuck along with a deserted old cemetery where Farina gets scared and on the outskirts, rolling farms and woods to play truant from school, go hunting for bears or just camping. Spanky and Scotty can show the way. The gang's original school, Adams Street Grammar School, is located in a rural area, and Green Street Grammar School is in a suburban area, but they are both eventually replaced by a more modern edifice, Greenpoint Grammar School, closer to town by time Miss Jones comes to teach. There are also a few bodies of water in the area for fishing and swimming such as Coogan Lake and Toluca Lake where boat races occur. Due to its proximity to Los Angeles, Greenpoint is home to its own movie studios, West Coast Studios and Mammoth Studios. Whether the later studio was created out of the earlier one is unrevealed. Greenpoint also has a number of local radio stations. In the Twenties, KHJ Radio Station performs playlets over the radio; NIX Radio Station continues the tradition into the early Thirties by which time KWZ Radio Station starts holding contests to discover talented young singing stars. Toward the mid-Forties, there are several stations in competition; although some of them may be from out of town. Their circuitry boards are blown out by Froggy Laughlin's voice over the radio. Greenpoint is first mentioned by name in Duel Personalities and remains the Rascals' hometown for the rest of the series. Previously, it is referred to as Elmira in A Pleasant Journey, Los Angeles in Fly My Kite and Blainville in Alfalfa's Aunt. While Greenpoint may be a suburb of Los Angeles, the other locales are possibly additional residential districts, many of which would have been absorbed into Los Angeles through the Twenties and Thirties. * For a list of people and residences, one can visit The Greenpoint Town Directory * For a list of businesses and local institutions, one can visit The Greenpoint Yellow Pages ---- Shorts * Alfalfa's Double * Auto Antics * Doin' Their Bit * Duel Personalities * Going To Press * The Little Ranger * 1-2-3 Go! * Party Fever * Tale Of A Dog ---- Category: Our Gang Locations